Where have we been?

I've been on vacation for a month!!  No, not actually "on" vacation, we didn't go anywhere! I wish we did, but what we did do was celebrate this little girls birthday!!

 We had lots of family in town and stayed busy with a weekend-long celebrations!

Here's proof that we had lots of little cousins in town!  We had a great time celebrating, so much fun that I had to take the next two weeks off to recover!!  

2 weeks and a dentist appointment!

wow!  has it really been almost two weeks since my last post?!  It seems like yesterday!  Just to let you all know, I'm really only able to post when I'm on an overnight.  Since we live in the boonies, we can't get "real" high speed internet and it takes fooooorrrrreeeevvveeeeerrrr to load a picture or video, so I have to wait till I get to a hotel to make my posts!

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We've had a great two weeks!  Greg is working some contract work and will be till August 5, so I took off the last two weeks to stay home with the babes and I can tell you that I am so ready to be a Part-time SAHM again.

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Last week Cutter had his first real dentist appointment and he did sooooo well.  I was very impressed with how well he did.  I've done well prepping him with these things in the past and he seems to do well with the idea, even if he says he doesn't wants to do it, after we get there he is willing and complacent.

While we waited Cutter got to play a video game, he didn't know what it was!  Poor little guy is probably the only 3 1/2 year old out there that doesn't know what a Wii or video game is, but he had fun playing! 

and we took the obligatory self portraits!  He was all smiles before we were called back!  

He climbed up in that chair like the big boy I knew he was!  The smiles didn't last long, soon he was unsure of what was happening, but his hygienist filled him in on everything she was doing and he seems to relax just a bit!  

 His favorite part by far was the spit sucker!  He loved it and asked if he could take it home!

After his teeth were all clean and fluoride in place, we were off to get x-rays done!  And the little guy did so well with everything she asked him to do, she gave him TWO toys!!  

Can you believe he did sooo well?  I can, I knew he could do it, but I was quite surprised that it was this easy!

After his dentist appointment, with his new toy-sword in hand, we made our way back home to get Gracie!  

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We had one more BIG thing on our agenda for the day!  Remember when Cutter thought he had found the picnic table of his dreams and Greg and I decided to try our hand at bribery?

Well...Cutter knocked out his countdown with just a few glitches and within 2 weeks he earned that special picnic table, but when it came right down too it, he decided he's thought he had earned a Cars guitar instead!

 This little guy is a NATURAL...from holding it to strumming it, he's great at it!

 This is music to my ears!  I hope he grows up with an ear for music, if he does I'll love listening to him play!

American Girl

Gracie and I had the chance to take in the American Girl store at the Galleria in Dallas!  And..Oh Em Gee...that place is every doll loving girl's dream!! 

I got Gracie all ready to go with her, "Wal-Mart" babies, and she was so excited to just be able to take her baby into a store, she could have cared less what store! 

 We started our visited there with a girls lunch in the American Girl Bistro and it was surprisingly good and filling!  Gracie loved having her baby sit with us in her little high chair.

 Our date for our "girls lunch" was Hope, Kelly and Krissa.  Hope has had Krissa for a few years and every year adds to her collection of personal belongings for her!

 After lunch we headed down stairs to do some shopping!!  Gracie worked hard at drawing her favorite book on this card, after she finished we took it to the register and got a free book!  

 Gracie was so excited to come home with this famous red American Girl bag.  Yes, I splurged and bought her the popular bitty baby and so far, it has been worth every penny!  Gracie hasn't put her down!

 She loves wrapping her up in the blanket, and "shhh, baby night night"!

It seems my love for babies and playing "momma" have been passed down to my baby girl!  I can't wait to see her play babies as she grows older!  As for the "My American Girl" doll, she will have to wait till Gracie can understand how to take care of them.  Until then, I'm saving my cash, because I'm going to need every bit of it!! ;)

Country Girl!

I know I posted this on Facebook a week or so ago, but I thought it was too cute not to post on  our blog, plus I added the other videos to it...

...and you can see her little attitude at the end!  

Bike Ride!

Greg has been wanting to buy bikes and go for a family bike ride for awhile.  So instead of rushing out and buying bikes we asked if we could borrow our neighbors first, to see how it would work!  

 Greg and Cutter took a ride around the neighborhood first while I got Gracie ready!  She saw them coming around the corner and was soo excited for her turn on the bike!

 Greg is such a good daddy!  I didn't want to attempt getting on a bike, although I will soon, I just couldn't do it today!  He was so good to take Gracie with him.

Gracie was all grins and giggles on her bike ride.  Cutter graciously offered for Gracie to wear his bike helmet during the ride and Mommy was more than happy to oblige.  

 And they're off...

After a BIG ride around the whole neighborhood, they were all back safe and sound and dripping with sweat, even Cutter!

Thanks Pantalions, for loaning us the bikes for our trial run, but in the end, we've determined that Greg needs a bigger bike!!

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Sprinkler FUN!

Last week, Cutter begged (we're working on it) asked to play in the sprinkler, so when we got home from the store I set it up for Cutter and Gracie to play and have some fun in the sun!  

They loved every minute of it!  Getting Gracie to warm up to the idea was a little hard, but once she realized it wasn't going to hurt her she was all for it! 

I love this picture!  One kid putting his head down and the other one waiting the water to rain down on her!  

 They raced from one end of the yard to the other end, they played with a big water bucket, but in the end they hugged and played together and that makes my heart full of so much love for both of them!  I hope their love continues to be as strong as it is today!!

"Be with who makes you smile" -Author Unknown

Bribery!!!

I don't bribe my kids with a lot of things.  I only bribe when I'm desperate it is important and warranted.

I take complete responsibility for my oldest's bedtime routine.  Cutter is a cuddler, he loves to cuddle and I took full advantage of it when a) he was the only child b) he was the only child and c) he was the only child!  I loved that he loved to cuddle / be rocked to sleep when he was an only child, but since Gracie has been born I've been kicking myself for not being more structured in his bedtime routine.  Our bedtime routine has gone from me or daddy rocking him to sleep and laying him down in his crib to laying in his big boy bed, waiting for him to fall asleep and then sneaking out.  I tell myself that he is only little once and enjoy it, but that way of thinking won't help when I'm trying to move Gracie to her big girl bed.  Gracie doesn't like to snuggle at bedtime and likes to be laid down and most of the time goes right to sleep, oh how I wish it was that easy with my eldest!

22 month later...and we are still laying down with Cutter, BUT Gracie needs to transition to a big girl bed and Daddy can't be in both places when Mommy is gone.  Everything I've ever done with Cutter has been cold turkey - he went cold turkey on the bottle, cold turkey out of diapers, and cold turkey moving into a big boy bed, but falling asleep on his own just hasn't been easy for him, so enter the bribery...

We were at Wal-Mart last week and Cutter begged asked if he could have this little tykes picnic table.  We told him no, but that he could earn it.  So for the last week we have been talking about him being a big boy and going to sleep on his own, he hasn't been too keen on the idea, but I've been persistent!  So, tonight we took the plunge and started our countdown!  Hopefully, Cutter will fall asleep in his bed ever night for the next week and when we get down to ZERO, we will go buy him the picnic table of his dreams! (no pun intended!)

I'll keep you updated...

My Gracie Girl

oh how my gracie girl has changed since my last post!

When I left blogging Gracie looked like this :

Mar 13, 2010

And now: 

Easter 2011

Gracie is the sweetest little almost 2 year old there is!  She loves her babies, she loves to cuddle, and loves to give kisses.

 Nix Fourth of July Reunion 2010

Gracie went from being a sitter to a walker in about 3 months!  She wasn't in a hurry to do anything dramatic. She still takes her time to do things.  She must know that she can do it, before she tries.

 Gracie is certainly my girly-girl!  She loves to play dress-up, wear my heels, do her hair and put on pretend make-up!  She also makes a great model for some tutu's I've made!

 Happy 1st Birthday, Gracie

Gracie wasn't the best of eater at the beginning of when she started eating table food!  Some food therapy and a little bit of time away from Mom and Dad (while we went on a cruise) and she was eating everything, but fruits and veggies!  So that leaves her eating nuggets, mac & cheese and lots of noodles!  She's not much of a junk food eater, and doesn't really care much for sweets, unless it is a sucker!

 Gracie's hair is growing WILD!  She's had her first haircut twice!  The first time, I swore she needed a haircut and I paid $15 for her hair to look just as wild.  The second haircut, she needed more of a trim of her bangs.  She did well and smiled the whole time!

 Oh my Gracie girl, it doesn't take much to upset her.  She is a sensitive soul, just like her momma.  She doesn't like to be told "no", but who does.  She cries any time Bubba takes something away and he is quickly learning that he doesn't like when she cries.  He immediately gives back her toy or tries to make the situation better.

 My turkey, turkey!  

 Gracie is talking up a storm and will repeat almost anything you say or bubba says!  Her favorite words are "NO!" "Yes!" and "MINE!" "Share!"

 She is the most beautiful little girl!  She reminds me so much of myself when I was little.  She has a really caring spirit and love for others.

 She loves her Momma more than anything and shows me with daily hugs, cuddles and kisses!

 But, this girl holds a special place in her Daddy's heart!  I love seeing the two of them play together, wrestle and share kisses!  Daddy is in so much trouble when she gets older, I hope she reserves her kisses just for him till she's 25 30!!!!!!

*~Cutter~*

Since it has been so long since I've posted I'm going to do "Get to know" type post about what our babes have been up too in the last year!

(his first dentist appt - May 2010)

Cutter, a soon to be 4 year old (!), is one of the sweetest little guys I know!  He loves his sister and baseball, in that order.  

Nix 4th of July Reunion 2010

He has got the biggest blue/gray eyes I've ever seen.  We get told that he looks a lot like Greg, but I really thinks he looks a lot like my dad's brother, my Uncle Steve, he looks just like his baby pictures.  He goes back and forth between loving to wear a baseball cap and having to have his hair done.  

Nix July 4th Family Reunion 2010

Cutter loved water last summer and is seems to be true for this year too!  Once it warmed up to a cool 95 degrees Cutter and Greg have been outside every day and evening.  They have their own little pool set up in the backyard and Cutter and Gracie LOVE it!  And it helps them both take good naps!

Ft. Worth Zoo - Nov 2010

Cutter will pretty much do anything we ask him to do, as long as it isn't picking up toys or cleaning his room.  He loves to try new things (a trait he gets from his mommy) and will give anything his all when he puts his mind too it.  He loves to play Nerf Guns with Greg.  His over all favorite thing to do to pass the time is to play hide-n-go-seek, Gracie and I usually team up together and Cutter and Daddy are a team.  This makes for some fun times in our house.  We are trying to teach him that he has to stay quiet and not giggle, but the little guy just can't keep those giggles in!  

Christmas 2010

Cutter really understood Christmas 2010 and is already looking forward to Christmas 2011.  I'm thinking we might are getting The Elf on The Shelf this year. (I just ordered it!!)  He asks all the time when Santa is coming! Little does he understand yet, that when Christmas comes, his birthday also comes and I DON'T want me little guy turning another year older, I love this age!

Cutter's 3rd Birthday Party - Feb 2011

Cutter loves BIG trucks, any kind of truck, Monster Trucks or Firetruck!  I had a hard time locating a Monster Truck for his 3rd birthday party so a Big Red Firetruck did the trick!  Cutter loved having his party at the Wylie Fire Station.  Although, Mommy was a little nervous that they would get a fire call in the middle of the party and sure enough they did.  Sirens, loud horns and red flashing lights are all part of the package when you decide to have a Firemans Birthday Party!

First Airplane Ride - March 2011

I don't know why neglected to take the kids on their first airplane ride, they did SO well!!  Cutter loved riding and sitting in his seat, Gracie did ok.  Mommy was actually working the flight, so Gracie was more interested in seeing what Mommy was doing.  

Easter - April 2011

Easter was so much FUN this year!  All the kids that were babies last year were running around searching for eggs this year!  It was a total blast and just look how much he has grown!  Such a little gentleman! 

Mother's Day - 2011

My best job by far that God has ever blessed me with is being the mother to two of the sweetest kids in the world!! They are my life and I can't remember what I did without them, except maybe sleep, but there will be plenty of sleep later in life.  For now I'm enjoying every bit of these two babes!